This invention relates to a novel method of incorporating a defoaming agent into a sugar-substitute sweetener. More particularly, it relates to a method of producing bulked sweetening composition having not only the appearance of granulated sugar but also the behavior of granulated sugar in terms of the latters dispersibility in liquid systems and its ability to go into solutions without leaving a slowly disappearing residual foam and film. This desirable result is obtained without an appreciable change in the desirable physical characteristics of the sweetener such as density and flowability despite application of a defoaming agent.
Previous attempts to produce bulked low-calorie sweetening compositions desirably having the appearance of granulated sucrose have involved co-drying, principally spray drying certain artificial sweeteners such as the saccharins and/or cyclamates, or nutritive sweeteners such as dipeptides sweeteners and their salts with edible bulking agents to derive products which possess a bulk density and caloric value per unit of volume considerably less than that of sucrose. Examples of these compounds are taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3,761,288 issued Sept. 25, 1973 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,753,739 issued Aug. 21, 1973 issued to Alberto Culver. This U.S. Pat. No. 3,753,739 teaches spray drying dipeptide sweeteners with starch hydrolysates slurries of which have been separately prepared at specific temperature ranges. Problems have arisen with the use of these spray-dried, low-calorie, bulked compositions since they disperse very slowly in liquid systems, and in particular, leave a slowly disappearing residual foam and film on the surface of such systems. This leaves an unattractive product characteristic which would significantly reduce consumer acceptance of the sweetener as a sugar substitute.